Kiefer Ravena is having a heck of a rookie conference in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup.
Drafted second overall by the NLEX Road Warriors, Ravena is proving that he was worth the wait, the hype, and the attention.
After the elimination round of the all-Filipino conference, he is the leading Rookie of the Year candidate with 27.0 statistical points after posting averages of 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.9 steals in 11 games. Amazingly, Ravena is also ranked 22nd in the Best Player of the Conference race, just slightly ahead of TNT's Roger Pogoy.
Even more impressive, the 24-year-old Ravena played well beyond his years in his first playoff game. In NLEX's 105-99 Game 1 victory over the Alaska Aces, He bested everybody with 25 points and eight assists.
"I really wanted to win. I was really in the zone during the game," Ravena said about his stellar playoff debut. "We worked so hard the entire conference. We're already here, so why relax?"
Ravena also made clutch plays down the stretch to give NLEX its first playoff victory in franchise history. He threw a beautiful pass to Michael Miranda to give NLEX a slim two-point lead with just 22 seconds remaining. Right after, he scored on a sensational drive to the hoop off of a jump ball situation. The young guard was ecstatic as he let out a primal yell after he made the clutch basket.
"I couldn't help myself," he admitted on the emotions he left on the hardwood. "Everybody [was] locked in and focused in the last minute and a half I would say, that's why my emotions got the best of me."
"Maybe that's part of my game - big plays, grit-and-grind," he added.
A lot has been asked of the young rookie at such an early stage in his career. He is a starter assigned to play floor general to a team stacked with veterans. Most of the time, he is also asked to make game-winning plays similar to what he did on Monday. At this rate, he surely is on pace to become the best rookie of his class.
However, the second generation player isn't overly concerned with winning the Rookie of the Year award.
"Well for me, I just have to do my job," Ravena shared, who stressed that he didn't want to put too much pressure on himself. "I just have to play the way that Coach Yeng (Guiao) wants me to play which is to lead the team whether [to] make the game-winning shot or game-winning play or make a good rebound, (play) good defense."
Ravena admitted if he preoccupied his mind with leading the ROY race, it would only serve as a distraction more than anything else.
"Hopefully if it happens, it'll just come at the end of the season," he opened up. "But for me my goal is to help the team and go as far as we can every conference. And now we have to start from here after getting Game 1 of the quarterfinals."
In just his first year in the pro ranks, Ravena is taking the league by storm with his scoring and play-making abilities. But when push comes to shove, the competitiveness in him will take a victory any day of the week more than anything else.
"I have to help my team win. If scoring one point and we win, that's fine with me. If I need to score more, then that's what I'll do," he confidently said.
"Hopefully we get another taste of history for the franchise by making it to the semis. We're one foot in, hopefully we get the other foot in too and close the door."
Ravena is having a phenomenal start to his PBA career. For now, the leading ROY candidate isn't worked up on earning individual awards or accolades. Instead, he is fixated on leading the Road Warriors to its first ever semifinals berth.